John 7:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see why Christ spent more of his time in Galilee than in Judea, according to John 7:1. The Jews, meaning the people in Judea and Jerusalem, were trying to kill him because he had healed the man who was disabled on the Sabbath day, as in John 5:16. They meant to put him to death, either by stirring up a crowd or by bringing legal charges, so he stayed away from that area and kept to another part of the country.

It does not say that he was afraid and would not go into Judea. Rather, he would not go there at that time. This was not cowardice, but wise caution, because his hour had not yet come. Gospel light is rightly taken away from those who try to snuff it out. Christ withdraws from those who drive him away, and he justly hides himself from those who reject him.

In times of clear danger, it is not only allowed but wise to withdraw for safety and to serve in safer places, as in Matthew 10:23. We are called to lay down our lives only when we cannot save them without sin. If God’s providence puts worthy people in places of little notice, we should not find that strange. That was the path of our Master himself, who was fit to sit in Moses’ highest seat, yet chose to walk among ordinary people in Galilee.

Even there, he did not sit still or hide himself away. He walked about and did good. When we cannot do what we would, or where we would, we must do what we can, where we can.

We are also told of the approach of the Feast of Tabernacles, as in John 7:2. This was one of the three great feasts that required all adult males to appear at Jerusalem. Its purpose was to remember Israel’s life in tents in the wilderness, and also to point ahead to the present life of God’s spiritual Israel in this world. The feast had been commanded many centuries earlier, yet it was still being kept.

This shows that God’s appointed ordinances do not become outdated simply because much time passes. Wilderness mercies should never be forgotten. It is called the Jews’ feast here because it was soon to be set aside as a distinct Jewish observance and left to those who still served under the tabernacle system.

Then comes Christ’s conversation with his brothers, some of his relatives, though it is not certain whether they were related through his mother or his legal father. They claimed some special interest in him, so they stepped in to advise him about his conduct. Their advice shows their ambition and desire for public success.

They urged him to leave there and go into Judea, as John 7:3 says, where, they thought, he would make a better showing than in Galilee. They gave two reasons. First, they thought it would encourage those in and around Jerusalem who respected him. Since they expected a worldly kingdom from him, and assumed the royal seat would be in Jerusalem, they wanted his followers there to see more of him. They thought the time he spent among Galilean disciples was wasted unless the people in Jerusalem saw his miracles.

Second, they thought it would help his reputation. They said that no one does things in secret if he wants to be known openly. They assumed Christ wanted public fame, so they thought it strange for him to keep his miracles hidden. In their view, if he really could do these works and win people’s approval, he should step into public view and make his claim.

At first glance, their advice may not seem harmful, yet John notes that it showed their unbelief, for his brothers did not believe in him, as John 7:5 says. If they had truly believed in him, they would not have spoken this way. It was an honor to belong to Christ’s family, but that was not a saving honor. The kinship Christ values is found in those who hear his word and keep it.

This also shows that Christ was not seeking a worldly advantage. If he had been, his own relatives would have joined him early, and he would have made sure they were first in line. Some who were related to him in the flesh did believe, including three of the twelve, who were his brothers. Yet others just as closely related did not believe. Many people share the same outward advantages, yet do not use them in the same way.

Still, there was more wrong in their advice. They were presuming to direct Christ, as if they knew better than he did. That showed they did not trust him to guide himself, much less them. They also showed little concern for his safety, because they wanted him to go to Judea, where they knew the Jews were seeking to kill him. Those who truly loved him later urged him away from Judea, as in John 11:8.

Some have thought that they hoped his miracles might be tested in Jerusalem, where the Pharisees and rulers could expose some fraud, if any existed, and so confirm their unbelief. Others think they were simply tired of him in Galilee and wanted him out of their region. In effect, they were saying, “Leave our area.”

They also unfairly implied that he was neglecting his disciples, as if they needed to see more of his works to keep their faith alive. They seemed to accuse him of lacking courage, as if he dared not face the great men in public. If he had greatness of soul, they implied, he would step into the open instead of hiding in a corner. In this way, Christ’s humility and humiliation, along with the small outward success of his religion in the world, have often been used to mock both him and it.

They also seem to question whether his miracles were true, saying in effect, “If you really do these things, let them stand up to public scrutiny.” And they treated Christ as though he were just like themselves, driven by worldly strategy and eager to impress others. But he did not seek honor from men. At the bottom of all this was self-interest. They may have hoped that if he became great, they, as his relatives, would share in his honor and receive respect because of him.

Many worldly people go to public worship, even to festival worship, only to be seen. Their main concern is to look respectable and make a good impression on others. In the same way, many who seem to care about Christ’s honor are really seeking their own advantage and using religion to help themselves.

The prudence and humility of Jesus show clearly in his reply to his brothers’ advice in John 7:6-8. Even though their words carried a rude and unfair tone, he answered them gently. We should learn from our Master to respond with meekness, even to things that are pushy or out of line. When someone speaks wrongly and it is easy to notice their fault, it is often better to overlook the insult than to answer in anger.

His brothers likely expected him to go with them to the feast, perhaps even hoping he would pay their expenses. He showed the difference between himself and them in two ways. First, his time was fixed, while theirs was always open.

When Jesus said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready,” he was speaking about when he would go up to the feast. For them, it made little difference when they traveled, because they had nothing urgent to keep them back or hurry them on. But every part of Christ’s time was precious, because each moment had its own assigned work. He still had important work to do in Galilee before leaving the region. In the harmony of the Gospels, between this suggestion from his relatives and his later journey to the feast, comes the sending out of the seventy disciples (Luke 10:1 and following), which was a very important task. So his time was not yet, because that work had to come first.

People who live useless lives always have time available. They can come and go whenever they want. But those whose time is filled with duty often find themselves pressed and unable to do what others can do anytime. Anyone who is a servant of God, as all people are, and especially anyone who has made himself useful to others, should not expect to control every hour of life. The burden of useful work is far better than the freedom of idleness.

Jesus may also have meant the proper time for appearing publicly in Jerusalem. He knew all people and all things, so he knew the best time would be around the middle of the feast. We are often quick to tell him what should happen now, as if the present moment were the right time for everything. But he is the best judge. His time may not yet have come, because his people are not ready for deliverance or his enemies are not ready for ruin. So we should wait patiently for his time, because everything he does is most glorious when done at the right season.

Second, their lives were not in danger, but his life was being hunted, as John 7:7 says. When they showed themselves to the world, they did not expose themselves to danger. “The world cannot hate you,” Jesus said, “because you belong to the world.” People who belong to the world are its own children and servants, and the world loves what is its own. But when Christ showed himself to the world, he opened himself to great danger, because the world hated him.

He was not only treated as someone unimportant, since the world did not know him. He was hated as if he were harmful to it. That was his reward for loving the world. Sin that rules in the heart has a deep hatred for Christ. But why did the world hate him? What evil had he done? Had he, like Alexander, pretended to conquer the world only to destroy it? No. He said, “because I testify about it that its works are evil.”

The works of an evil world are evil works, just as a tree’s fruit matches the tree. This is a dark world, a world that has turned away from God, and its works are deeds of darkness and rebellion. Our Lord Jesus, both by his own teaching and through his servants, does and will keep exposing and condemning the evil works of this wicked world. That is deeply upsetting to the world. Evil people do not like hearing about their sin, because their own consciences make them ashamed of it and afraid of the punishment that follows.

Whatever else may be claimed, the real reason the world hates the gospel is that it speaks against sin and sinners. Christ’s witnesses, by what they teach and by how they live, trouble those who live on the earth, and for that reason they are treated so cruelly (Revelation 11:10). Still, it is better to be hated by the world for speaking against its evil than to win its friendship by joining in with it.

Jesus then sent his brothers on ahead, planning to remain in Galilee for a while longer, as John 7:8 says. He allowed them to go to the feast, even though they were acting in a fleshly and hypocritical way. Even those who come to holy worship with bad motives should not be blocked or discouraged from coming, because who knows whether they may be changed there? But he would not go with them, because their purpose was worldly and false.

Those who go to worship for show, or for some earthly gain, go without Christ, and they will fare accordingly. What a sad condition it is when someone thinks himself related to Christ, yet Christ says to him, “Go to that service. Go pray. Go hear the word. Go receive the sacrament, but I will not go with you.” It is like the warning in Exodus 33:1-3, “Go on, but I will not go with you.” If Christ’s presence does not go with us, why should we go at all?

When we are going to, or returning from, solemn acts of worship, we should be careful about our company. We should avoid people who are vain and worldly, so that bad conversation does not quench good desires. Jesus said, “I am not going up yet to this feast.” He did not say, “I will never go up,” only “not yet.” There may be reasons to delay a duty without abandoning it altogether, as in Numbers 9:6-11. His reason was, “My time has not yet fully come.” Our Lord is exact and careful with his time, and because it was the time appointed, it was also the best time.

After saying this, he stayed in Galilee until the right time came, as John 7:9 says. Because of this conversation, he remained there. He would not be led by people who pushed him toward public display, nor would he join in their temptation to seek honor from men. He also would not move away from a decision he had already made with clear foresight and careful thought. Since he had said he would not go up yet to the feast, he stayed in Galilee.

Christ’s followers should be steady and not act lightly. He went up to the feast at the right time, and the way he went matters too.

He did not go up with his brothers, because he did not want them to stir up a noisy crowd around him, pretending they were showing him to the world. That fit both the prophecy and his own spirit, since he would not quarrel or cry out, and he would not make his voice heard in the streets (Isaiah 42:2). But he did go up after them. It is lawful to join in the same public worship with people whose close company we should avoid, because the blessing of religious services depends on God’s grace, not on the goodness of the people around us.

His worldly-minded brothers went up first, and then he followed. In outward religion, false and proud people may sometimes get there before sincere believers. Many come first to the temple because they want attention, and they leave without being made right with God, like the Pharisee in Luke 18:11. The real question is not who arrives first, but who comes in the right spirit. If we bring our hearts with us, it does not matter who got there before us.

He went up as it were in secret, not openly, but quietly, almost hiding himself. He did this more to avoid giving offense than to avoid harm. He went because the feast gave him a chance to honor God and do good, but he went quietly because he did not want to provoke the government. God’s work is often best done with the least noise. The kingdom of God does not need to come with outward show (Luke 17:20). We can do God’s work privately without doing it dishonestly.

There was much expectation about him among the Jews in Jerusalem, because he had come to earlier feasts and had shown himself by the miracles he worked. So people could not help talking about him. The Jews searched for him at the feast and asked, “Where is he?” Some of the crowd wanted to see him because they were curious about his person and his miracles. They had not gone to Galilee to look for him, though they would not have wasted their effort if they had. They hoped the feast would bring him to Jerusalem so they could see him there. People may not go out of their way to meet Christ, but if he comes near, they are glad enough.

When people gather to worship God, they should seek Christ there. Those who want to see Christ at a feast must look for him there. But it may also be that his enemies were watching for him, hoping to seize him and stop his work. They asked, “Where is he?” with contempt, as if they meant, “Where is that fellow?” They should have welcomed the feast as a time to serve God, but instead they saw it as a chance to attack Christ. Saul once waited for David at the new moon in the same way (1 Samuel 20:27). To look for a chance to sin in holy worship is a terrible insult to God, as if a person were striking inside the king’s own court.

People were divided in what they thought about Jesus. The rulers’ hatred and their search for him made people talk about him even more. Opposition to the gospel has often helped spread it, because when it is spoken against everywhere, it is also discussed everywhere, and more people examine its claims. The people were not murmuring against Christ exactly, but about him. Some blamed the rulers for not supporting him, while others blamed them for not stopping him. Some complained that he had so much support in Galilee, while others complained that he had so little support in Jerusalem. Christ and his religion have always stirred up debate, as he said they would (Luke 12:51-52). If all people welcomed Christ as they should, there would be perfect peace. But when some receive the light and others refuse it, there will be strife.

Some said, “He is a good man.” That was true, but it was not the whole truth. He was not only a good man, but more than a man, he was the Son of God. Many people speak well of Christ, yet still think too little of him because they do not say enough. Still, it was to his honor, and to the shame of his persecutors, that even those who would not believe him to be the Messiah could not deny that he was a good man.

Others said, “No, he deceives the people.” If that had been true, he would have been a very bad man. But his teaching was sound, his miracles were real, and his way of life was plainly holy and good. Yet they still assumed there must be some hidden trick, because the chief priests opposed him and wanted to put him down. There is still the same kind of talk among people today. Some say Christ is only a good man and nothing more. Others will not even grant that much, and say he deceived the people. Some belittle him, others attack him, but the truth stands firm.

Because their leaders frightened them, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jews. Some dared not speak well of him in public. While anyone could criticize and insult him, no one dared defend him. Others did not dare speak of him at all. Since no one could rightly say anything against him, they would not allow anything to be said in his favor. It was almost a crime to mention his name. Many have tried to suppress truth by claiming they only want to end arguments about it, and in that way they hope to silence religion itself.